Records: the Royal Army
Structure of the Royal Army King Edward's Royal Army was based on a New organizational Model, and would be capable of service anywhere in the country, and eventually anywhere in the world. It would have members from across British Isles, trained together and unified more than any other force on Earth. Some called it a New Model Army, thought the irony of the name was only apparent to the few who had glimpsed an alternate timeline. The new Royal Army would be full-time professional soldiers, rather than part-time militia, and would be loyal to the rightful regent rather than beholden to a given noble's house. This was, in effect, a sort of early Continuity of Government assurance. The benefits would not include non-military offices, grants or titles, but would include an above-average salary, food and housing. To a large degree, this limitation on Royal Army retainers helped soothe the fears of the king's "affinity". Soldiers that completed a full tour would receive a pension, with pensions increasing based on time past the minimum (unless receiving muster due to medical discharge). Those medically discharged would, under medical review, also receive a pension for having received wounds in the line of duty. The Facilities Not simply barracks, the first Royal Regiment would be based in a newly planned St. George Citadel, in the recently established parish of “St George in the East.” It was a very rural area immediately east of London, and site of a recovering hamlet known as Wapping Stepney. There was some question of whether to invest in a full citadel or not, and for traditionalists, there was no question of "yes." For those with a more elevated view, it was unlikely at this point that any earthly force would ever threaten London – but the incidence of incidents made just enough uncertainty to say that a full defensive posture was worth the capital. The Force Structure Everything started with the individual soldier. * Four infantry soldiers, led by a corporal, would come together to form a 5-man squad. * Four squads, led by a sergeants, would come together to form a platoon. * Ten platoons would form a Company. The company split command with 2 lieutenants in charge of 5 platoons each. The 2 lieutenants then reported to a captain, who was in charge of the overall company. * Three companies would form a Mobile Infantry Battalion. The battalion was commanded by a Major, who had a captain as the Executive Officer (generally the spot where the captains were groomed to be promoted to major). Attached to the 3-company infantry battalion would be a Cavalry Company, an [[Records: the RA Artillery|''Artillery Company]], a 'Musketeer Company' and a 'Command Company, which included support and logistics. The four companies was commanded by a separate Major, who also had a captain as an XO to assist. Together, these seven (7) companies formed a regiment. The regiment was commanded by a Brigadier (general), with a colonel as an executive officer. The regiment was authorized for a force total of 1,756 soldiers, with logistics planned ''in detail'' (519 horses, 127 wagons, 40 cannon, etc.), but that was guaranteed to change as situations demanded. '''The Loadout of the Infantry Soldier The infantry themselves were extraordinarily well equipped for the standards of the time. In fact, equipping them took more of the high grade steel than was used for the cannons. They were effectively dragoons, created about three centuries early, * Each infantry soldier was equipped and trained on a halberd, long sword and heater shield. The feature, however, was the Smoothbore Projector (the word "gun", as it was used in English, hadn't been invented yet). * Their armor included a distinctive heavy helmet and full metal breast plate, which they usually did their calisthenics in. * When equipped for battle, they started with a modified hauberk (chain shirt), which was soft padding under the plate areas, but flexible chain mail between the plate areas to provide full protection. For the major target areas, they added pauldrons (shoulder pads), vambraces (articulated plate armor for the arms), couters (elbows) and gauntlets. * On the lower half, similar to the hauberk, the space between plate pieces were connected by modified chainmail chausses. As for the primary targets in single combat, they wore cuisses (thighs), poleyns (knees), demi-greaves (shins) and sabatons over boots. While not quite the full armor of a knight, the design was actually more comprehensive and more maneuverable. With advanced design and engineering, as well as steel alloy construction, the infantry soldiers would make short work of traditional full heavy-armor knights. The pauldrons alone were a new development: like wearing shields – and they looked like a perfect extension of the soldiers themselves. The psychological effect was that the soldiers – already big by training – appeared that much larger. In a one-on-one fight, the infantry was more terrifying than facing a traditional knight. The individual armor alone made them a daunting foe, but the weight made them sprinters rather than marathoners. This was one of the motivations for loading every single soldier into a war wagon and rolling them to battle. As the plan was coming together, it was seen by many in London as the soldiers suddenly raced from their barracks on some training mission into the countryside. Criticized as wretched excess, or "making every soldier a noble", the tactic started to make sense. 60 heavily armored soldiers could make it from one side of the city to the other in ten minutes. The amount of force Edward could apply at any point, at any time, quickly reversed itself to be a mildly intimidating point of English pride. The infantry themselves were still used to running – it was part of the training – but that running was conditioning for combat. Edward was leading extremely aggressive infantry maneuvers. They were going to push the world through a very quick tour of medieval warfare. The Individual Firearms The Smoothbore Projectors represented a mundane (non-magical) science and engineering leap of roughly five+ centuries. There was all kinds of magic behind the scenes, from access to the engineering, to the building the manufactories to mass produce these weapons, to accelerated metallurgical capacity used in the components. The weapons themselves, however... were mostly non-magical. The one part that magical was the equivalent of the firing pin. The ammunition used casings, in this case brass, with powder sealed behind the bullet within the cartridge. By using a magical detonator on the weapons rather than primer within the cartridge, they could reduce the complexity of the ammunition. The weapons themselves were already complicated enough. The Projectors were what the alt-Timeline might recognize as a kind of pump-action shotgun. They had a trigger, trigger guard, barrel, stock, and a detachable tubular magazine. Soldiers went into battle with several magazines stashed on the back side of their shield. The bore was half an inch with the standard capacity of 6 in the magazine and 1 in the barrel. Unlike the artisanal weapons of the middle ages, a blunderbuss carved to evoke a dragon, the Royal Arms Projectors emphasized simplicity and durability. The trajectory range was close to a mile, though true aim was out to about fifty yards. For pitched battles, this was suitable to cut down forward ranks, with the thunder and blood sowing fear and confusion in the survivors. The War Wagons The Royal Company had been building their own wagons, mostly for major logistics cartage: kenaf, paper, and a dozen different kinds of ore and processed metals. The heaviest of those were armored and adapted to carry troops and equipment, high speed, over long distances. The ability to move 30 miles a day, rather than marching 8-10, and be fresh enough to roll right up and fight, was revolutionary. Where wars were started or avoided based on projected logistics and troop movement, this capacity would be devastating. This was essentially the dragoon concept three centuries early, where mounted infantry were likely to bring the fighting to where the troops were, not on the fields groomed by one side or another for pitched battles. Each war wagon had two dedicated crew, a pilot and a gunner, and transported two (2) 5-man squads. That added up to two (2) wagons per platoon (with one riding heavy with the sergeant). Each wagon was pulled by 2 horses. The wagons were each equipped with one roof-mounted mortar for indirect fire and as well a single culverin (small cannon), with 4 mount points it could switched to (on the roof). This gave each pair of squads effective minor artillery support within shouting distance. For each company, it added up to 20+1 wagons (the additional wagon for command). Likewise, the battalion itself also had a command command wagon. Included were heavy firearms mounted on the carts themselves. In effect, they were going to make horse-drawn tanks. With the engineering, the growing "steam" initiative and magic all coming together, it wouldn’t be long before they didn’t need the horses, either. The Wagon Crew Given the general shortage in labor and manpower, there was a debate if the squads themselves should be trained into the wagon crew positions. In the end, while regular cross-training was deemed a necessity, Edward wanted to keep the fighting units focused on the fighting, with transport and maneuver elements focused on the overall battle, commands and supporting fire with the wagon-mounted weapons. There was the pilot (the driver), and the gunner, each with their specialized training and qualifications – but with cross training to each others' positions first. The wagon crew training overlapped defensive surveillance similar to the Royal Guard, and they were further trained as lite corpsmen (medics) and smiths (mechanics) during the down-time cycle. As Royal Army soldiers, they were required to maintain basic infantry standards in fitness and personal fighting capacity. They were armed with a short sword (instead of a long sword), shield and sidearm. Given the extensive training cycles, Royal Guard were not allowed to train into Wagon Crew positions during their rotation, though Wagon Crew were heavily recruited into Royal Guard following their initial 6-year enlistment. Signaling the Men It was unheard of (in England) to maintain 1,300 soldiers in a standing national army. 1,300 soldiers that would practically be flown to engagements in war wagons was downright startling – and wanted to train fast, to think fast, and to be fast. To that end, he was structuring them to be fast. In training at the Garrison, or encamped in the field, he was adopting bugle calls to keep the pace quick. This emphasized the pace and tempo of operations. The calls would be heard into London, creating a presence that emphasized the new power that was now residing in England. Finally, part of the training of the men included not just individual or small unit skill, but large formation maneuver as was the custom in the pitched battles of the time. had worked hard to move all 1301 men to the battle quickly, he wanted to move them just as quickly within the battle. To effect this, the Army dipped into a trend both new and ancient: war drums. Drums were one of the few sound sources that could be heard across a battlefield. They could rally troops or intimidate the foe. Mostly, though, with several different rhythms, they could signal orders and changes in formation. The English standard assigned two drummers to each company to carry a half dozen different messages. The Battalion Equipment list With 64 wagons and 128 horses, that made a heavy sea lift for only 769 soldiers. On the other hand, with the personal firearms, training and so on, the destructive power of this force was estimated to be at least 10:1 in comparison to knights, and likely 20:1 in comparison to the average French foot soldier. * 641 infantry soldiers, including command + 128 Wagon Crew (769 total troop) * 64 wagons * 128 horses Category:Hall of Records Category:1377